In John Widtsoe's autobiography, (1952), he states that "Failures in life come to those who cannot or will not work. To really enjoy life, a person should learn to love to work, steadily, regularly." ( , p. 9) In this instance, as always, John A. Widtsoe practiced what he preached.

Widtsoe, his brother Osborne, and their mother, a widow, emigrated to Logan, Utah from Norway in 1883 as converts to the Mormon Church. To help support his family, eleven-year old John stacked firewood, delivered milk, worked as a printer's assistant, and clerked in a store. After working all day, he took instruction from tutors at night.

Later on, Widtsoe became one of the first "boys from Utah" to attend Harvard where he graduated summa cum laude in three years with a degree in chemistry. In 1898 he was awarded the Parker Fellowship to study at the University of Goettingen, Germany where he performed in a superior manner. On his return to the United States in 1900, he became, in succession, director of the Experimental Station in Logan; founder and chairman of the department of agriculture, Brigham Young University, Provo; president of the Utah State Agricultural College, Logan; president of the University of Utah; and apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Commenting on the pace of his life, Widtsoe's son-in-law, Homer Durham, pointed out in 1954 that, aside from official responsibilities, Widtsoe remained active in the scientific fields all his life, beginning in 1899 when his dissertation for the University of Goettingen concerned the existence of methyl pentosans (types of sugar) in certain plants, to his work in 1952, very shortly before his death, on the feasibility of multipurpose dams in South Saskatchewan for the Canadian Royal Commission. He was also instrumental in the writing of the Colorado River Compact of 1921. And he was a primary source for problems concerning dry farming and irrigation. He wrote, in fact, the first study ever on dry farming in 1902. He also founded a magazine called , later known as .

Finally, he developed an immense store of knowledge on the LDS Church. He wrote, with his wife, a book on the Word of Wisdom, edited the sermons and writings of Brigham Young and Joseph F. Smith, and wrote for , a church magazine which he also served as editor. A late bibliography of Widtsoe's writings shows 29 books, 800 pamphlets, as well as assorted study courses, articles, and reviews. This is, Widtsoe notes, "An approximately correct list. Such work was done in spare hours between regular duties." He spoke Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, English, German, French, and Latin.

In spite of this imposing list of achievements, Widtsoe was well known only in Utah and other areas where the Mormon Church was an influence. During the early 1920's, while he was part of a committee to reorganize the Reclamation Bureau, two newspaper photographs showed him in company with other committee members. In one he was labelled "James R. Garfield, former Secretary of the Interior," and in the other, "Oscar E. Bradfute, Xenia, Ohio, President American Farm Bureau."

Widtsoe married Leah Eudora Dunford in 1898. She was the granddaughter of Brigham Young and daughter (by a first marriage) of Susa Young Gates. It was a very happy marriage. Widtsoe, in paying tribute to his wife, wrote "Wherever Leah is, there is Eden."

Although the Widtsoes had eight children, only three reached maturity. One of these, K. Marsel Widtsoe, the only son, died in 1927 while still a very young man. The remaining two, Anne Widtsoe Wallace and Eudora Widtsoe Durham were responsible for donating the Widtsoe papers, including the Susa Young Gates and the Emma Lucy Gates Bowen material, to the Utah State Historical Society in 1966.

Philosophy

In his autobiography, John Widtsoe stated that "the two major activities of my life were the gospel, and education." ( , p. 218) On the first subject he wrote,

Since my boyhood I had known the restored gospel to be true. In my college days I had subjected it to every test known to me. Throughout my life it had made the days joyous. Doubt had fled. I possessed the Truth and understood. . .the pure and simple gospel of Jesus Christ. ( , p. 158)

He was always active in education, not only as a university president and/or faculty member, but also as the LDS Church Commissioner of Education. He believed that the education of women was "as necessary to the welfare of the state as the training of men for their life's pursuits." ( , p. 115) And he was harsh to opponents of his point of view:

It is a decided blot on Utah's educational escutcheon when tradesmen and garbage collectors are paid more than its teachers. They who would try to limit or circumscribe our educational institutions, no matter how high their office, are enemies of the state. ( , p. 152)

Although John A. Widtsoe was apparently universally admired both for his accomplishments and his character, he was a self-made man which fact may have influenced a less than usually generous attitude toward the average achiever,

Success comes more certainly where it is preceded by strong desire. They who fail have a weak, wavering feeble desire. Indeed, success may be foretold by the strength of desire. If it is as a tidal wave backed by action, success comes begging for acceptance. ( , p. 19)

Leah Eudora Dunford was born in 1874 in a one-story adobe house in Salt Lake City where the Hotel Utah now stands. Her parents were Susa Amelia Young, a daughter of Brigham Young, and Alma Dunford, a dentist. While Leah was still very young, her parents were divorced. Her mother subsequently married Jacob F. Gates. Leah, however, remained with her father until her mid-teens when she-joined her mother's family and began building a close relationship with Susa, a powerful woman in her own right. Of her grandfather, Brigham Young, who died when she was three-and-a-half years old, Leah had only one memory. Her mother took her to his office in the Lion House and he, with the aid of horehound candy, charmed her.

Leah benefitted from unusually extensive educational opportunities, particularly for her era. She attended the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, as well as taking courses at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and attending a summer session at Harvard in 1893 where she met her future husband, John A. Widtsoe. They were married in 1898 and their first child, Anne Gaarden Widtsoe, was born the following year in Goettingen, Germany where Widtsoe was studying chemistry.

As her husband advanced from one position to the next, Leah Widtsoe developed some specialities of her own, although not at the expense of her husband's career, or well being. The philosophical foundation of her life was that "Homemaking and parenthood are the two most important professions; they are also the two most neglected and least trained for." ( , 6/9/65)

Out of this belief, and along with her educational background, Mrs. Widtsoe wrote pamphlets and articles and gave lectures on aspects of homemaking and health. With her husband, she wrote which was concerned with the Mormon health code. She collaborated, too, with her mother, Susa Young Gates, on . Here, a major part of her efforts was involved with making the book interesting to the buying public; but, at the same time, consistent with her mother's views on the book as a missionary tool for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She also wrote regularly for the , , and . In 1945, she revised , a Biblical novel originally published by her mother. She was active in the Salt Lake Council of Women, the National League of Pen Women, the Women's Legislative Council, and was a founder of the Utah League for Women Voters. One of her proudest moments, however, came in 1933 at the end of her husband's tenure as president of the European Missions of the LDS Church when George Bernard Shaw, hearing she was a granddaughter of Brigham Young, visited mission headquarters in London and later had the Widtsoes to dinner.

Philosophy

Leah Widtsoe hated unhealthy food--particularly Coca-Cola and sugar. In a letter to nutritionist Adele Davis in 1940, Mrs. Widtsoe made a firm suggestion.

Seeing how the American people abuse the use of sugar and candy, I could wish that you had recommended the use of fruit or some little crackers for the mid-afternoon lunch. Should you make another edition, I shall hope that you will make a distinct warning on this subject. People of our country, as you know, are called "the sugar gluttons of the world," and I do feel our bodies suffer greatly because of it.

She had an unwavering testimony of her church and her husband. On a tour of the Holy Land in 1933, she notes in her journal, "The sadness of fate; the loveliest sea voyage imaginable and John and I both had such huge cold sores that we could not kiss!" Then she adds, "The voyage ended as all things must--most enjoyable. The blue blue of the Mediterranean is incomparable unless with Bear Lake at its best," a comparison reflecting her standing as a born and bred product of Utah.

While Mrs. Widtsoe wrote easily and often, she rarely got specific, "I hate to write about myself--could never write my memoirs-too personal."

Although the principal portion of the Widtsoe Family collection belongs to John and Leah Widtsoe, two document cases hold material on Anne Widtsoe Wallace and her son, John Widtsoe Wallace.

Anne Widtsoe was born 2 April 1899 in Goettingen, Germany, the eldest of the Widtsoe children. She served an LDS Church mission to the southern, ca. 1922, and married Lew Wallace in 1926. They had three children -- John, Joanne, and Margaret--before being divorced in 1933. After the divorce, Anne went back to school and eventually became the librarian of the Widtsoe collection of books held by the University of Utah. In her journal for 19 July 1921, Anne writes,

I have a palace for a Home and a King among men for a Father and a Queen and an Angel Mother. I am treated as a Princess and yet with all these Blessings and more, I don't seem to be doing my part in the big affair--our lives!

John Widtsoe Wallace was born August 8, 1927 to Anne Widtsoe and Lew Wallace. He served in the Navy at the end of World War II and then went on an LDS mission to Norway from December 1947 to December 1949. While in Norway, he spent some time in Trondheim, the early home of his grandfather Widtsoe, whose presence is often felt in the letters written by the younger John during his service and mission experiences.